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Spiritual marriage was a situation made for comedy. John Chrysostom is vividly aware of the multiple ways in which society mirrors the world of the stage. The joke of spiritual marriage and the way humor is embedded in social context are discussed. Chrysostom's appropriation of comic technique is obvious in the beginning of his treatise to the men living in spiritual marriage. He begins with the intriguing supposition that the pleasure found in spiritual marriage may actually be greater than that found in conventional marriage. He also exploits the narrow gap between moral exhortation and...

Spiritual marriage was a situation made for comedy. John Chrysostom is vividly aware of the multiple ways in which society mirrors the world of the stage. The joke of spiritual marriage and the way humor is embedded in social context are discussed. Chrysostom's appropriation of comic technique is obvious in the beginning of his treatise to the men living in spiritual marriage. He begins with the intriguing supposition that the pleasure found in spiritual marriage may actually be greater than that found in conventional marriage. He also exploits the narrow gap between moral exhortation and comedy. The central portion of Chrysostom's pamphlet proceeds through a series of uncoverings proper to comedy as a genre of revelation.